Mubin did it in Coimbatore: Why do Islamist terrorists shave their body before a suicide mission

Suicide attackers are deprived of a proper burial as there are no remains after they blow themselves up. So they shave their bodies to ensure some level of cleanliness at the time of death.

New Delhi, Nov 05: The investigations into the Coimbatore blast in which one Jameesha Mubin was killed revealed that he had clean shaven his body before the blast took place.

This is a clear indicator that he was on a suicide mission as the fidayeens believe that they must be clean shaven before they embark on their mission. We have witnessed this practice in Jammu and Kashmir where suicide bombers have been clean shaven. All terrorist groups, including the Islamic State, insist that their fidayeens or suicide bombers should be clean shaven.

An official, who has extensively dealt with cases of suicide missions, tell OneIndia that these persons shave the hair of their entire body because they want to be clean before they enter heaven. Muslims usually purify the corpses by washing the skin and nails and sometimes shaving pubic hair.

Suicide attackers, on the other hand, are deprived of a proper burial as there are no remains after they blow themselves up. Hence they shave their bodies to ensure some level of cleanliness at the time of instant death.

While this is one argument, the other is that these persons derive this practice from the Pashtun tribes of Afghanistan who enter a battle with their bodies shaven. In Islamic law, hair removal is mentioned as a method of maintaining personal hygiene.

The Sunnah, in addition to nail clipping, also instructs Muslim men and women to shave or trim public hair regularly or remove hair in the underarms. Men are also instructed to clip their moustaches. In some cases men are also instructed to shave their hair.

Al-Bukhari, a scholar in the 9th century who collected Hadith, quoted the Prophet as saying, 'may Allah bless those shaved during the Hajj or pilgrimage; and the Quran says that you shall enter the scared Mosque, if Allah wills with minds secure and heads shaved, hair cut short and without fear.'

In this context, we must revisit the four-page document the US authorities recovered in the aftermath of the 9/11 attack. The four-page document recovered from Mohammed Atta is titled 'The Last Night'. The document makes several points and begins by stating, 'make an oath to die and renew your intentions'. Next it says, 'shave excess hair from the body and wear cologne'. In this context it must be noted that in the Muslim world, the application of perfume, shaving is often part of the post-mortem treatment.